Squid Game: The Challenge

Squid Game: The Challenge is a British reality competition television series based on the South Korean drama series Squid Game. The show features 456 players (the largest cast in reality TV history) competing for US$4.56million, the largest single cash prize in reality television history.

The Netflix original was produced as a collaboration between independent television production companies Studio Lambert and the Garden, with Studio Lambert leading physical production in the UK. The first 5 episodes of the show were released internationally on 22 November 2023 on Netflix. Episodes 6–9 were released on 29 November, while episode 10, the finale, was released on 6 December.

The show was No. 1 on Netflix’s list of Top 10 English-language show for the first two weeks after its release. It had 20.5 million views in its first week, 11.4 million in its second, and 6.6 million in its third, with a total of over 224 million hours watched within the first 21 days.

On 6 December 2023, prior to the release of the season one finale, Netflix announced a second season order.

Episodes
The first five were released on 22 November 2023. Episodes 6–9 were released on 29 November, while episode 10, the finale, was released on 6 December.

Production
In June 2022, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order.

Casting
Applications for the series opened in June 2022 with an announcement video released on YouTube. Netflix sought contestants from around the world but mandated that they must be English-speaking. The streaming service put out a final casting call in September 2022. Approximately 81,000 applied to be contestants.

With 456 real players, the series claims to have the largest cast in reality TV history. The most number of players are: from the United States; in their 20s; men.

Filming
Filming began in January 2023 across two studios in the UK, Cardington Studios in Bedford and on six giant sound stages in Barking, London.

Reports emerged that ambulances had been called to treat real-life injuries sustained while filming the show. Several players claimed in an interview that "Red Light, Green Light" had actually lasted for 7 hours, where players had to hold poses for up to 30 minutes. Netflix denied the severity of the reports, stating that the injuries were mild medical conditions and that they care about the health and safety of the cast and crew. The local ambulance service also stated it had not been called out to the studios. Britain's Health and Safety Executive evaluated the production after these complaints and found no actionable issues. Two unnamed players from the show threatened to sue Netflix after claiming that they had hypothermia during filming.

Game fairness and conditions
Four contestants of Squid Game: The Challenge made claims that the games were "rigged" and that filming conditions were poor. For example, for the game "Red Light, Green Light", players were forced to play in an unheated hangar for over nine hours, while medics tended to those who were unable to handle the low temperatures. In addition, in this game there were players who reached the finish line, but were still eliminated. One player also claimed to have seen another player who was eliminated but still able to rejoin the game.

Viewership
In its release week (20–26 November 2023), Squid Game: The Challenge was the most-watched show globally on Netflix, with 85.7 million hours. It reached number one in 74 countries that same week, including the US and UK – and was Top 10 in a further 19 countries.

The series stayed at number one globally on Netflix into a second week (27 November – 3 December 2023), with 11.4 million views and 85 million hours watched. It was Top 10 in TV in 91 different countries that week. The reality competition series also boosted the original drama series Squid Game to number seven on the Non-English TV list with 1.5 million views that week.

In its third week post-release, Squid Game: The Challenge came in third place globally. It added 6.6 million views and 54.1 million hours viewed.

Critical response
The show received a mixed reception from critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 45% based on 44 reviews, with an average score of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Challenge can be an addictive binge thanks to the sheer ingenuity of Squid Games' set pieces, but playing the original series' barbed satire completely straight gives this spinoff a soulless aftertaste." Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on 22 critics reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ryan Smith wrote in Newsweek, "Netflix's new spin-off of the thrilling Korean drama not only succeeds but triumphs in bringing to screens one of the most compelling TV competitions of the decade". In the Financial Times, Dan Einav proclaimed the "Netflix megahit becomes an irresistible reality show", while the Radio Times stated that Squid Game: The Challenge "not only lives up to the original, but with the new twists, challenges, and the real-life prize fund at stake, it's even more intense than the hit show". In Vulture, Nicholas Quah said "not only does Squid Game: The Challenge qualify as damn good reality television, it even serves as an unexpectedly effective adaptation of the original K-drama. The game show uses the language of modern reality television to realize, in its own strange way, the themes in Dong-hyuk's parable of capitalism grinding human beings into dust". Quah concluded "Squid Game: The Challenge isn't just a good reality show. It's a morally righteous one". Writing in The Guardian, critic Rebecca Nicholson said, "The real-life version of the Netflix drama is a grandiose, addictive spectacle that will have you shouting at your TV before the end of episode one."

Some critics have suggested the unscripted version misses the point of the drama. The Hollywood Reporter called it "a brand extension that fundamentally misunderstands what the brand was meant to represent in the first place", continuing "you can take the anti-capitalism out of Squid Game – but capitalism will always find a way to rear its ugly head". In The Telegraph, Jasper Rees said "the reality remake loses none of the tension or intrigue" of the drama, continuing "I…am agog to discover how ruthless the last dollar-driven survivors can be". Chase Hutchinson for Collider found it "shameless and opportunistic" and concluded "if the corrupt forces of capitalism could be made into a shambling corpse of television, it would look like Squid Game: The Challenge".